Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 321: Imperial Family Reform
What Zhu Houzhao had always been worried about was that as the country's doors opened wide, some toxic substances would appear that could easily lead to physical and mental decline of the Chinese people.

At this time, the elixir of immortality recommended by King Hui was obviously the so-called opium.

During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, this should have been called Fu Shou Gao, but why did it appear now? Zhu Houzhao didn't know the specific reason, but he could guess that it should be related to the fact that the Ming Dynasty had opened its seas, causing some drugs from overseas to begin to flow into the Ming Dynasty.

However, in this era, people still use this longevity paste as medicine, and they are not aware of its toxicity.

However, Zhu Houzhao could see that Prince Hui Zhu Houjue knew the harmful effects of the Fushou Paste, otherwise he would not have used various excuses to explain why he could not take the Fushou Paste.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao wanted Prince Hui to take this medicine. He wanted to let everyone in the Ming Dynasty know that this so-called medicine that could make people immortal and energetic was actually poisonous.

Prince Hui took a step forward with some trepidation. He certainly knew what the elixir of immortality he had offered was and what the consequences would be, but now that Emperor Zhu Houzhao had ordered him to take it, he had to take it. He squeezed the longevity cream in his hand again and again, wishing he could squeeze it into powder and make it disappear.

"Wait!"

Zhu Houzhao suddenly shouted again at this time.

Prince Hui couldn't help but feel overjoyed, wondering whether the emperor was reluctant to let him take the medicine or had other ideas. But in any case, as long as he was not allowed to take the medicine, it was a good thing.

Zhu Houzhao did not speak to Prince Hui, but only asked Gu Dayong: "Have all the royal family members arrived in Beijing?"

"Your Majesty, all the royal family members have arrived in Beijing," Gu Dayong replied.

"Immediately announce the decree, ordering all members of the royal family and all civil and military officials to come to the palace to appreciate the medicine. Tell them that Prince Hui has an elixir of immortality and wants to present it to me. Since it is a magical medicine, I cannot enjoy it alone. The ministers should also have the pleasure of seeing it. Also, have the attendants send a message immediately to let all the people know!"

Zhu Houzhao planned to make this matter bigger, so that everyone in the Ming Dynasty would know what this so-called elixir of life was and how toxic it was.

Prince Hui understood Zhu Houzhao's intention. He knew that he could only let Zhu Houzhao manipulate him now. He also knew that Emperor Zhu Houzhao must have known the effect of this elixir of life.

But what he didn't understand was that since Emperor Zhu Houzhao already knew the toxicity of this elixir of life, why didn't he want to use this drug to control others, but instead wanted everyone to know that this drug was harmful.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask you, what are you going to do? Why do you want to let the world know about this medicine?"

Prince Hui couldn't help but ask out of his inner doubts.

Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly: "Although I am a king, I do not regard the people as grass. You are just a vassal king, but you only have my position in your eyes. Naturally, you cannot see the common people. If one day, you sit in my position and look down on others, you will find that you are closely related to the common people below."

After saying this, Zhu Houzhao asked Gu Dayong to send someone to temporarily guard Prince Hui.

At that time, members of the royal family and civil and military officials entered the palace one after another.

The news about Prince Hui offering the elixir of immortality, the Longevity Cream, to the emperor was also published in newspapers such as Huangming Daily at the instruction of Zhu Houzhao.

A few days later, nearly ten million people in the entire capital city knew about the Fu Shou Cream.

Xia Yan, the deputy minister of the cabinet, said to Zhang Cong with some concern: "Prince Hui has presented the elixir of immortality to Your Majesty. This may not be a good thing. Since ancient times, wise and virtuous monarchs have all brought the prosperity of the Restoration to an abrupt end and ushered in chaos because of their pursuit of the elixir of immortality."

"I have the same worry. Your Majesty is only a human being after all, and as a human being, you have to worry about life and death. However, pursuing the art of immortality is ultimately an act of neglecting one's duties. Now that Your Majesty has summoned us to the palace to reward you with the elixir of immortality, we still have to advise Your Majesty a little," Zhang Cong also replied.

"That's exactly what I mean," Wang Shouren echoed.

The court officials were very worried that His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Houzhao would become obsessed with the secret of immortality and neglect state affairs.

But in fact, the Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao now made public the fact that Prince Hui had presented the elixir of life, just to make people in the world not believe in the existence of the elixir of life, but to believe in science, and at the same time to expose the toxicity of the elixir of life, namely the longevity paste.

However, Zhu Houzhao's behavior also let everyone in the world know that Prince Hui was a flatterer, causing Prince Hui to be hated by the whole world.

After the royal family members and civil and military officials entered the Royal West Garden, they saw a prince sitting on a couch beside the Moon Viewing Pond, holding a pipe in one hand. It seemed that he was very favored by His Majesty, otherwise it would be impossible for him to sit on the couch and calm down in this royal villa.

Zhang Cong, the chief minister of the cabinet, could not help but frown and asked Gu Dayong, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, "May I ask the Minister, who is the prince sitting on the couch?"

"Prince Hui Zhu Houjue," Gu Dayong replied with a smile.

"Is it His Royal Highness Prince Hui who presented the elixir of immortality to Your Majesty?" Wang Shouren walked over and asked.

"That's right. Your Majesty was very interested in the medicine he presented and even gave him a special bed," Gu Dayong said with a smile.

Zhang Cong could not help but wave his sleeves in anger.

Other officials also showed anger, and they all despised Prince Hui's behavior of seeking favor by offering the elixir of immortality.

"Your Majesty is here!"

At this time, the sound of whips rang out, and Zhu Houzhao came in a sedan chair. After a while, he sat on the throne after the royal family and ministers saluted and said, "Recently, Prince Hui presented me with an elixir of immortality. I have named it Fu Shou Gao. Now I invite you all to come here to show you the efficacy of this Fu Shou Gao!"

As soon as Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, Zhang Cong wanted to step forward to advise the emperor Zhu Houzhao not to be too obsessed with the pursuit of immortality, and even summoned all the ministers for this purpose. However, at this time, Xia Yan pulled Zhang Cong and said: "Prime Minister, wait a minute, Your Majesty did not take it yourself, maybe there is a deeper meaning."

Zhang Cong was stunned for a moment, then he thought about it carefully and understood what was going on, so he did not stand up.

At that time, all the court officials inside and outside the court smiled and looked at Prince Hui.

Prince Hui sat on the couch, holding his pipe, his heart as cold as snow. When he saw countless pairs of cold eyes looking at him, he felt the coldness in his bones, so cold that his hand holding the pipe was shaking.

"Your Highness, it's time for you to take it," an eunuch lit the pipe for Prince Hui. Prince Hui nodded and started to smoke. He choked after taking a puff, but after a while, he took another puff without realizing it.

Prince Hui found that the more he smoked, the more refreshed he felt. He felt as comfortable as if he was flying on the clouds, light and airy.

"It is difficult to see the effect of this medicine for a while. Within a month, all the ministers and I will come here to see Prince Hui and see the efficacy of Prince Hui's longevity cream." Zhu Houzhao said, and ordered people to show some of the longevity cream presented by Prince Hui to the royal family and ministers, and to pass on the decree to grant Shuiyun Pavilion to Prince Hui to stay temporarily!"

A few days later, Zhu Houzhao brought clan members and civil and military officials to visit Prince Hui. However, Prince Hui was like a walking corpse at this time, smoking in the house and gradually losing weight.

The royal family members and civil and military officials were all very surprised to see this.

Zhu Houzhao was not surprised at all, and only ordered: "Stop supplying medicine to Prince Hui!"

then.

The supply of longevity cream to Prince Hui was stopped.

Not long after the supply of Fu Shou Cream to Prince Hui was stopped, Zhu Houzhao brought clan members and civil and military officials to visit Prince Hui.

At this time, Prince Hui was already skinny, grabbing the railing of the pavilion like a ghostly zombie: "Give me medicine, please give me medicine! Your Majesty, I beg you, please give me medicine!"

The royal family members and civil and military officials were naturally even more surprised to see this. They were shocked that this so-called elixir of life and longevity cream would make a person's body become so bad after taking it, as if they had a serious illness, and it seemed to be addictive and difficult to control.

Seeing that the royal family members and civil and military officials were eager to learn about the longevity cream, Zhu Houzhao pretended to be ignorant and asked Prince Hui: "Prince Hui, what medicine do you want me to give you?"

"The elixir of life! It is the elixir of life that you, Your Majesty, named the Longevity Cream. Please, Your Majesty, give me the Longevity Cream!"

Prince Hui was crying and begging Zhu Houzhao. Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao continued to ask: "Why do you want me to give you the longevity cream? Where did you get it?"

"Without the longevity cream, I, I can't live now. I dare not deceive your majesty. This longevity cream was obtained from the hands of the Westerners. It was given to me by a man named Wan Lide. I beg your majesty to give me some longevity cream, okay? Woo woo!"

Prince Hui huddled in the railing of the waterside pavilion, with his hands stretched out, begging from Zhu Houzhao like a beggar.

"It turned out to be brought in from the West too." Zhu Houzhao smiled secretly in his heart, then waved his hand and ordered: "Give Prince Hui the longevity cream!"

then.

The eunuchs then threw a whole piece of longevity paste to Prince Hui, who hurriedly picked it up from the ground and began to suck it.

Seeing how Prince Hui was enjoying himself, the royal family members and civil and military officials were all sighing with regret, and they all truly felt the power of the Fu Shou Cream.

Zhang Cong glanced at Xia Yan and said nothing more. He naturally understood that His Majesty was not seeking for the elixir of immortality. His Majesty wanted all the dignitaries of the dynasty to recognize the true nature of the longevity cream.

"Your Majesty has really put a lot of effort into this! It's a pity that Prince Hui thought he could rely on this medicine to win favor, but unexpectedly, the wise emperor has a sharp eye and cannot be bewitched by ordinary people," Prince Fenglin Zhu Taihan also sighed at this time.

Prince Hui died a few days later due to an overdose of longevity cream and some other causes. Everyone in the world was amazed when they heard about it, but because of this, everyone in the world knew that longevity cream was not a medicine to save lives, but a medicine to kill people.

At this time, the censor Wang Shike also impeached Prince Hui for plotting assassinations and even instructing people in the palace to manipulate market profits during his lifetime. Zhu Houzhao therefore took the opportunity to strip Prince Hui of his title, and requested the Ministry of Justice to detain and execute all the criminals.

"I don't want to say anything more about Prince Hui's affairs. I believe you all understand what this longevity cream is now. The cabinet should quickly order the governors and the customs officials of all provinces to strictly prohibit the longevity cream from entering the territory of our Ming Dynasty, including the areas controlled by our Ming Dynasty. The people of the Ming Dynasty are also prohibited from taking the longevity cream. Once anyone is found taking it, the government will forcibly detain and stop them from quitting!"

"Jinyiwei, immediately send someone to escort the Westerner Wan Lide, who was confessed by Prince Hui, to the capital. I will punish him severely!"

After Zhu Houzhao said this, all the ministers in the cabinet and Guo Rong came forward to receive his order.

Immediately, Zhu Houzhao said: "The matter of Fushou Cream needs to be dealt with, and now, I have summoned you, the descendants of the royal family, for another matter, which is the reform of the royal family."

"The number of royal family members is increasing. Since the first year of Zhengde alone, the number has increased by nearly a thousand. You clan members are also very fertile. As far as I know, the late Prince Duanshun Zhu Qizhen had a hundred sons, not to mention the number of daughters. As a result, during every festive gathering, some relatives and children do not recognize each other."

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he asked, "Have all the descendants of Zhu Qizhen arrived in the capital? Stand up and let me see them."

Most of the royal family members present smiled awkwardly, and soon after Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, a group of royal family members wearing purple clothes and jade belts stood up one after another on a long row of nanmu chairs on the right side outside the Qinzheng Hall. Among them were white-haired old men and young boys who were not yet twenty years old.

At this time, the white-haired old man came out and said, "Your Majesty, I, Prince Gongyu Zhu Biaoluan, greet you."

Next, a series of generals assisting the country began to introduce themselves.

"Are you all sons of Prince Duanshun Zhu Qizhen?" Zhu Houzhao asked again after these people introduced themselves.

These people all replied: "Yes!"

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but burst out laughing. Although the other people present already knew that Zhu Qizhen had many children, they were still shocked at this time.

"One hundred sons means that in addition to the eldest son inheriting the title of Prince, the court will also appoint ninety-nine generals to assist the country. The annual salary for the Prince Duanshun alone will be more than 100,000 dan of grain."

Zhu Houzhao calculated and called out Wang Tingxiang, who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, "My Lord, if these Prince Gongyu gave birth to another 100 sons, or if all the princes in the world gave birth to the same number of sons, would the court be able to support so many royal family members of the Ming Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, even though the court's treasury is now overflowing, it cannot afford such consumption. In the tenth year of Zhengde, the expenditure on royal family salaries and rewards has increased tenfold compared to the first year of Zhengde. There are nearly ten thousand royal family members, and the annual expenditure on grain is millions of shi. If this continues, after ten generations, even if the court's income does not decrease, it will be difficult to maintain."

The Minister of Revenue Wang Tingxiang had repeatedly proposed that the court reform the management of royal family members. After all, as the Minister of Revenue, he knew best how much pressure these royal family members who did not pay taxes and did not engage in farming or business put on the court's fiscal expenditures. Therefore, when Zhu Houzhao mentioned this matter, he actively raised the seriousness of the problem.

Zhu Houzhao also knew that reform of the royal family was imperative, but reforming the royal family was the most difficult because the pressure to reform the royal family did not come from the court or from the princes themselves, but from the pressure of the ancestral system.

The ancestral system could be broken, but the purpose of the ancestral system that restricted the freedom of the royal family was to prevent them from plotting rebellion. Now that Zhu Houzhao wanted to break these ancestral systems, it would naturally lead to a series of political struggles among the royal family.

But changes must be made, even if the royal family will feel resentful, even if some scoundrels will take this opportunity to take advantage of the royal family's dissatisfaction to rebel, what needs to be changed must be changed. After all, from the perspective of national interests and the interests of the people, royal family reform is necessary.

Moreover, now that Zhu Houzhao and officials holding important positions in the court are all reformists, it is the best time to reform the royal family.

Logically, Zhu Houzhao did not need to summon these clan members to carry out royal family reforms. However, Zhu Houzhao felt that since it involved royal family reforms, it was necessary to let these clan members participate. At least he could make them understand that the court was reforming their interests. It was not really bad for them, but the court could not continue to support them like this.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao had originally planned to prevent these princes from leaving Beijing after entering the capital. According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's enfeoffment of the princes at that time was somewhat like a feudal system to let the royal family guard the territory for the court, and he seriously regarded the world as the property of his own Zhu family.

But in fact, these clan members were scattered throughout the local areas, and after Zhu Di's reforms stripped them of their military power and restricted their freedom, they were of no benefit other than causing harm to the local areas.

Moreover, the princes who want to rebel will still rebel, as shown by the examples of Prince Anhua and Prince Ning.

Rather than allowing these princes to harm the local areas, which would increase the cost of suppression for the imperial court once they rebelled and prevent them from colluding with local forces, it would be better to confine them in the capital. This would not only allow for better monitoring of these princes, but also prevent them from annexing local land and seizing people's property.

Moreover, these princes and royal family members who stay in the capital can also learn more about the latest information of the Ming Dynasty. They will not really become pigs in a pen, harming people during the day and creating people at night. If the Ming Dynasty is still in chaos in the future, they will at least have a reliable royal family member.

As for the concern that the princes who stayed in the capital might gain power due to their close relationship with the emperor and then try to usurp the throne, Zhu Houzhao had also considered this. However, rather than worrying about the instability of the throne for his descendants, he was more worried that the entire Chinese nation would decline in the future because of his own selfishness as an emperor.

In fact, when history reached the era of the Industrial Revolution, as an emperor, whether the decision he made was selfish to maintain his family's ruling status, or selfless decision to make major changes at the risk of losing his family's status in order to prevent the nation from being overtaken by latecomers, would affect the course of history.

In history, Kangxi, a wise ruler highly praised by later generations, refused to improve firearms in order to preserve his Manchu nobles' advantage in riding and shooting, which caused the country to lag far behind the West in equipment manufacturing. Peter the Great of Tsarist Russia made bold innovations after visiting Europe, which enabled Tsarist Russia to become one of the great powers in modern times even with its serfdom system.

Zhu Houzhao knew that he was now facing such a choice. If he was a little more selfish and compromised, in order to maintain his throne and try not to cause any unexpected events, there would be no need for him to carry out reforms, and there would be no problem in preserving the Ming Dynasty's century-long destiny.

But Zhu Houzhao was a modern man, a person who had been educated in the national thoughts of later generations. He did not want the empire to continue to remain in a state of stagnation because of his cowardice and selfishness.

"Times are changing. There are more and more bourgeoisie and artisans. Education is becoming more and more popular and literacy is improving. Thoughts will be liberated. Sooner or later, the idea of ​​limiting monarchy and refusing to be ruled by a dictatorship will emerge. It is becoming increasingly difficult to be a dictatorial emperor. Even if you are a little selfish, you cannot guarantee that your descendants will be emperors forever. In the future, you will either be forced to change by others or be pushed to the guillotine by your own people. Instead of doing this, it is better to change yourself now, at least to prevent the emerging class from attributing their dissatisfaction with politics to the monarch's dictatorship!"

Zhu Houzhao thought about it and then looked at the clan members and civil and military officials present: "As Wang Qing from the Ministry of Revenue said, the court can no longer afford to support us royal relatives. It seems that the reform of the clan is really necessary. My clan members, what do you think about this? You can speak freely and give your opinions. I don't want you to say that I am unkind after I make the reform. Since we are a family, let's sit down and talk about how to make our royal family not a burden to the world, but the leader and founder of the prosperity of the dynasty!"

Among the royal family members present, some were eager to try, some looked hesitant, some were so indifferent that they just slept soundly, and some were even perversely looking at some court officials with lecherous smiles. After all, those who were selected to serve in the court had to be good-looking, especially some of the young Six Department Censors.

Those who were eager to try were naturally the royal family members who were still worried about the world. For example, Zhu Taihan stood up first at this time. When he learned that the court had ordered the royal family members to come to Beijing, he guessed that the court might carry out reforms on the royal family. He was a person who liked to consider the world, and through his observation of life in his own palace, he also realized that the royal family must be reformed.

Therefore, Zhu Taihan said: "Your Majesty, I think what Wang Butang said is very true. The number of royal family members has been expanded too much, and the burden on the court has been increasing day by day. If this continues, it will be detrimental to the country. Therefore, I think it is possible to limit the number of royal family heirs.

For example, a prince can only have five sons, a county prince can only have three sons, and so on, in descending order of rank. Those who exceed the specified number will not be given titles or salaries, but only a crown and robe, and allowed to fend for themselves! "

Zhu Houzhao smiled and nodded. As a member of the royal family, Zhu Taihan was able to take the initiative to stand up and demand reforms for his own class. Regardless of whether the reform proposal was thorough or not, it was commendable.

However, at this time, the Minister of Personnel Meng Chun's face darkened. Zhu Taihan's active suggestions made him think not that this prince was valuable, but that this prince was ambitious and might become a threat to the court in the future. He might even deliberately show off his talents to attract the emperor's attention and replace the civil service group to help the emperor govern the world.

It was not just Meng Chun who thought so. At this time, Zheng Yue, the Minister of the Dali Temple, also felt uneasy. Zhu Taihan's active response made him feel that Zhu Taihan must have bad intentions in doing this. However, he could also see that His Majesty was smiling and was obviously satisfied with Zhu Taihan's behavior, so he stood up and said:

"Your Majesty, according to the ancestral system, princes cannot participate in politics. Therefore, I think that the reform of the royal family can be discussed by the court. There is no need to mobilize so many troops. According to the system, the princes and royal family cannot stay in the capital for a long time, and they should return to their vassal lands as soon as possible."

Thanks to my book friend Huachen for the 500 starting coins reward. Thank you to my book friend Xiansanren2006 for the 100 starting coins reward. Thank you to my book friend Zhuqianzi for the 100 starting coins reward. Thank you to my book friend Yijin Baitang for the 100 starting coins reward. Thank you to my book friend Wo Wai Shi Meng Xiang for the 100 starting coins reward.



(End of this chapter)